Driving mechanism for toy vehicles



Oct. 28, 1969 B. J. CAGAN FI'AL 3,474,566

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR TQY vnurcuas v Filed May 5, 1967 INVENTORS BERNARD J. CAGAN, CARL ANTHONY 704450, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 46-206 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A driving mechanism for toy vehicles comprising an axle or other rotatable member which carries a gear. A second movable gear is mounted on a rotatable rod and is normally held out of engagement with the first named gear by a coil spring. A pair of elongated resilient bands are secured at one end of the rod and at the other end to a slide.

When the slide is moved to a forward position, sufficient pressure is exerted upon the rod to overcome the pressure of the coil spring and move the movable gear into engagement with the gear carried by the axle. When the axle is rotated manually, the bands are twisted and tightened, eventually causing the slide to be pulled back to its rearward position.

When the axle is released, the twisted and tightened bands cause the axle and rear wheels or other driven member to be rotated until the bands are unwound. When this occurs, the pressure of the coil spring automatically releases the movable gear from engagement with the gear carried by the axle. This allows the axle and wheels to continue their rotation in free Wheeling in response to the momentum caused by the original driving force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention pertains to driving mechanisms for toy vehicles.

Description of the prior art The only prior art known to the applicants is the use of twisted and tightened resilient bands to drive the propellers of toy airplanes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A driving mechanism for a toy vehicle having a rotatable member which is driven by resilient means which are tightened and then released. The invention provides means for disconnecting the resilient means from the rotatable member after the energy stored in the tightened resilient means has been utilized, to permit the rotatable member to continue to rotate by the force of momentum, free from engagement with the resilient means. The release means may operate automatically upon completion of the unloosening of the resilient means.

The invention also provides means for connecting the resilient means to the rotatable member so that rotation of the rotatable member will tighten the resilient means without preventing disconnection of the rotatable member from the resilient means after the resilient means has been unloosened.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a driving mechanism for toy vehicles which is simple in construction and operation, economical to manufacture and effective in use.

The invention is an improvement over the prior art because it provides for simple and novel engagement and disengagement between the resilient bands and axle, so that free wheeling of the axle is utilized to take advantage of the momentum resulting from the force exerted upon Patented Oct. 28, 1969 the axle by the bands. The slide structure and the gear structure and their novel cooperative relationship are also believed to be improvements over the prior art.

The invention also comprises such other objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by our invention.

While We have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a racing car embodying the invention, with the starter-brake lever in released position;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same, with the slide member in rearward position, the bands unwound and the gears out of engagement;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the gear assembly, showing the bands tightened and the gears in engagement;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged bottom view of the slide member assembly, showing the slide member in forward position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 2, showing the starter-brake lever in engaged position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment which has been selected to illustrate the invention comprises an elongated racing car body 10, which may be formed of molded plastic or other suitable material. The body 10 is supported by two relatively small and light front wheels 11 which are mounted on opposite ends of a front axle 12 and two substantially larger and much heavier rear wheels 13, which are mounted on opposite ends of a rear axle 14.

Mounted adjacent the midportion of the rear axle 14 is a circular gear 15, which extends transversely to the rear axle 14. The circular gear 15 has a plurality of evenly spaced gear teeth 16, which extend in a plane parallel to that of the rear axle 1'4. 1

The body 10 includes a pair of spaced vertical walls 17, which are disposed forwardly from the rear axle 14. An elongated rod 18 extends longitudinally through a long eyelet 45, which extends through the center of the walls 17. A pinion gear 19 is mounted on the rearward end of the rod 18. A short eyelet 46 is mounted on the rod 18 with its head adjacent to the pinion gear 19. A coil spring 20 is mounted surrounding the rod 18 between the head of the short eyelet 46 and the head of the long eyelet 45, which fits against the rearmost wall 17. The spring 20 normally exerts pressure against the pinion gear 19 to force it rearwardly and hold it in a position slightly rearwardly from the forwardmost teeth 16 of the circular gear 15.

The forward end of the rod 18 carries a hook 21. A pair of elongated resilient bands 22 formed of rubber or other elastomeric material are secured at their rearward ends to the hook 21. The bands 22 extend longitudinally from the hook 21 within the midportion of the body 10. Their forward ends are mounted in a pair of notches 23 which are formed in the opposite sides of the rearward portion of a slide 24 which is disposed adjacent and beneath the midportion of the front axle 12.

The slide 24 is mounted for horizontal sliding movement along the longitudinal axis of the body 10 through openings formed in a stationary member 25, which is disposed beneath the midportion integral part of the body 10.

A wall 26 extends transversely across the front portion of the body 10, slightly rearwardly from the forward end thereof. The wall 26 extends downwardly from the top of the body to approximately the top of the slide 24. The forward end of the slide 24 carries a downwardly directed circular pin 27. The forward end of the slide 24 is bifurcated and the upper side of at least one of the bifurcations 28 is provided with a raised portion 29, which is adapted to engage the forward edge of the wall 26 when the slide 24 is moved forwardly by exerting manual pressure against the pin 27.

The bifurcations 28 are disposed on opposite sides of an elongated oval slot 50, which fits around a vertically directed stationary post 51 which is disposed adjacent the forward end of the stationary member 25. Engagement between the post 51 and the forward end of the slot 50 limits the rearward movement of the slide 24 in response to pressure exerted by the resilient bands 22.

Each of the rear wheels 13 is provided with an inner 'hub 30, which has a plurality of radial fins 41. A starterbrake lever 31 is pivotally mounted adjacent its midportion on a pivot pin 42 which extends transversely into the side of the body 10 adjacent to one of the rear wheels 13. The forward end of the starter-brake lever 31 carries a hook 32, which is adapted to engage in one of the fins 41 in order to hold the rear wheels 13 and rear axle 14 against rotational movement. The rearward end of the starter-brake lever 31 is adapted to be moved downwardly by manual pressure to release the book 32 from the fin 41 or upwardly to cause the hook 32 to engage one of the fins 41.

In use, the car is preferably completely assembled by the manufacturer. The slide 24 is normally disposed in rearward position. The coil spring 20 normally holds the pinion gear 19 directly adjacent to, but out of engagement with, the teeth 16 of the circular gear 15.

When the car is to be operated, the first step is to turn the body 10 upside down and move the slide 24 forward by manual pressure on the pin 27 until the raised portion 29 engages the wall 26 to hold the slide 24 in forward postion. Forward movement of the slide 24 moves the notches 23, which hold the forward ends of the bands 22, forwardly to stretch the bands 22 and increase the tension which they exert upon the rod 18. This increased tension is sufficient to further overcome the pressure of the coil spring 20 and cause the pinion gear 19 to be moved forwardly a short distance, so that its teeth engage the teeth 16 of the circular gear 15. The pinion gear 19 moves forwardly until the end of the shank of the short eyelet 46 engages the head of the long eyelet 45.

Either or both of the rear wheels 13 may then be rotated manually, causing the rear axle 14 and circular gear to rotate. Because of the engagement between the gears 15 and 19, the rod 18 and hook 21 are rotated simultaneously with the rear wheels 13- and rear axle 14. Rotation of the hook 21 causes the bands 22 to be rotated and twisted. The rear wheels 13 are preferably rotated approximately twenty or thirty half turns. Before this point is reached, the increased pressure exerted upon the slide 24 by the twisted and tightened bands 22 should overcome the holding force of the raised portion 29 on the wall 26 and cause the slide 24 to become released from engagement with the wall 26 and be pulled back to its rearward position.

This rearward movement of the slide 24 has no immediate etfect upon the engagement between the gears 15 and 19 because the increased pressure exerted by the twisted and tightened bands 22 upon the rod 18 is sufficient to hold the pinion gear 19 in its forward position against the urging of the coil spring 20.

After the bands 22 have been sufliciently wound, the starter-brake lever 31 may be manually pivoted so that its hook 32 engages one of the fins 41 on the adjacent rear wheel 13, to prevent rotation of the rear wheels 13 and 4 rear axle 14 in response to the pressure exerted by the bands 22.

The car may then be turned over and placed in position for racing. The car is started by pivoting the rear end of the starter-brake lever 31 downwardly to release the hook 32 from the fin 41 with which it is engaged. The rear wheels 13 and rear axle 14 are then free to be rotated by the unwinding movement of the twisted bands 22.

The rear wheels 13 and rear axle 14 are rotated rapidly as the bands 22 rapidly unwind. When the bands 22 are substantailly completely unwound, the pressure exerted by them upon the rod 18 is diminished to the point where it no longer overcomes the pressure of the coil spring 20 and the latter causes the pinion gear 19 to be moved rearwardly out of engagement with the circular gear 15.

This leaves the rear wheels 13 and rear axle 14 free to continue rotating in the same direction without any further connection with the pinion gear 19 and bands 22. Because the rear wheels 13 are comparatively heavy, a flywheel effect is obtained, in which the momentum achieved through rotation of the rear wheels 13 by the bands 22 is utilized to continue rotation of the rear wheels 13 and forward movement of the body 10 for a substantial length of time after the rear wheels 13 have been disconnected from the bands 22.

The result is that the body 10 is driven for a certain distance by the bands 22 and it then continues in free wheeling for a considerable additional distance by utilizing the momentum resulting from the original driving force.

If the slide 24 should fail to be automatically released to its rearward position before the winding of the rear wheels 13 and bands 22 is stopped, the user is instructed to release the slide 24 manually by rearward movement of the pin 27, in order to assure automatic disengagement of the gears 15 and 19 when the bands 22 have become unwound.

It will be apparent that the driving mechanism described above may be adapted by persons skilled in the art to other toy vehicles such as airplanes, boats, etc. In such case the shaft of the airplane or boat would correspond to the rear axle described above and the propeller would be the driven member which corresponds to the rear wheels described above.

We claim:

1. A driving mechanism for a toy vehicle having a wheel connected to a rotatable axle, said driving mechanism comprising at least one resilient band, first gear means connected to said wheel, second gear means connected to one end of said resilient band, a slide connected to the opposite end of said resilient band, said slide being movable to tighten said band and thereby exert pressure to move said first and second gear means into engagement with each other, said wheel being rotatable to twist and further tighten said resilient band, said wheel being rotated upon the unloosening and unwinding of said resilient band, and means operable automatically upon the unwinding of said band to move said first and second gear means out of engagement with each other to permit said wheel to continue rotation free from engagement with said resilient band.

2. The structure described in claim 1, said slide being movable to a position further away from said first and second gear means, and holding means adapted to hold said slide temporarily in said position to hold said first and second gear means in engagement with each other.

3. The structure described in claim 2, said slide being automatically released from said position after said resilient band has been twisted by pressure exerted by said band to move said slide back toward said gear means, said gear means remaining in engagement after the release and movement of said slide due to pressure exerted upon said second gear means by said resilient band.

4. The structure described in claim 3, said means operable automatically upon the unwinding of said band to move said gear means out of engagement with each other comprising resilient means normally urging said second gear means out of engagement with said first gear means, the pressure exerted by said resilient means being overcome by pressure from said band upon the movement of said slide away from said gear means.

5. The structure described in claim 4, said slide holding means comprising notch means engageable between said slide and a stationary part of said vehicle, said slide being automatically released from said position upon substantial completion of the tightening of said resilient band by pressure exerted upon said slide by said tightened resilient band.

6. The structure described in claim 5, said second gear means being mounted on a rod, and a coil spring surrounding said rod, said coil spring engaging said second gear means and comprising said resilient means.

7. The structure described in claim 6, the front end of said rod carrying a hook, and a pair of resilient bands connected between said hook and said slide.

8. The structure described in claim 7, said vehicle having an axle, a substantially heavy pair of wheels References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,852,134 4/1932 Sweet 74-405 2,055,848 9/1936 Marx 46-206 XR 2,066,826 1/1937 Da'vis 46-208 2,749,660 6/1956 Zimentstark 46-206 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner H. DINITZ, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 46-208; -37 

